Looking Back for Future Generations: An Exploration of the U.S. Census for Genealogical Research

The U.S. Census is mandated in the U.S. Constitution and has been recorded decennially since 1790. Its primary purpose is to record every person in the U.S. in order to apportion House of Representative seats and distribute federal funding based on state populations. But for many genealogists, the census is often used to research ancestors who lived in the U.S.; however, it can be difficult to identify people in early census schedules due to limited enumeration and questions asked. Reform in 1849 proved to be beneficial, not only at the time for gathering statistics about the growing country, but also for genealogists today as the 1850 census enumerated more people and asked more questions. The Daughters of the American Revolution are noted as the first to use census records for genealogy at the end of the nineteenth century. Since then, technologies such as microfilm and optical character recognition have created easier access to census schedules up to 1950. By examining the format and delivery, questions asked, and history of its institutionalization, the census proves to be one way of examining the country’s transformation over time.